Army Staff Sgt. William D. Vile

Remember Our Heroes

Army Staff Sgt. William D. Vile, 27, of Philadelphia

SSgt. Vile was assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.; died of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using direct fire May 1, 2009 near the village of Nishagam, Konar province, Afghanistan. Also killed were Sgt. James D. Pirtle and Spc. Ryan C. King.

Army identifies remains of Riley soldier
By Gina Cavallaro
Staff writer

The remains of a Pennsylvania soldier previously listed by the Army as “duty status whereabouts unknown” have been positively identified by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner, the Defense Department announced Tuesday in a press release.

Staff Sgt. William D. Vile, 27, of Philadelphia, who was assigned to a military transition team in Afghanistan, died of wounds suffered in an attack May 1 when insurgents attacked his unit using direct fire and rocket-propelled grenades, officials said.

The attack took place in the village of Nishagam, Konar province.

Sgt. James D. Pirtle, 21, of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Spc. Ryan C. King, 22, of Dallas, Ga. — both were assigned to Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, of Fort Hood, Texas — also died in the attack.

Vile was assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, from Fort Riley, Kan.

Soldiers and service members from other branches of the military are trained at Fort Riley in a 60-day course to advise, teach, mentor and coach their counterparts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Army Staff Sgt. William D. Vile was killed in action on 5/1/09.